As of 13 August 2026, AI can find a cheaper supplier for a product you buy.

What to actually do

1. Use a tool built for this

   The route this page recommends

2. Do it yourself

   Second choice

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open your current supplier invoice, contract and product specification, then record the exact product, unit of measure, current landed cost, minimum order, lead time and payment terms.
   2. Gather your recent order quantities, delivery location, required quality or certification evidence, acceptable substitutes and any reasons you cannot change supplier.
   3. Paste those details into the prompt and attach or paste any supplier quotations, product pages and invoices that the chatbot is allowed to use.
   4. Ask the chatbot to produce a like-for-like comparison table, separating confirmed prices from missing costs and assumptions.
   5. Open each proposed supplier's current product page and contact details, then send the drafted request for quotation asking them to confirm specification, price, delivery, VAT, minimum order, lead time, payment terms and returns.
   6. Compare the returned quotes with your current landed cost, check references or quality evidence where relevant, and get the selected supplier approved under your organisation's purchasing process before placing an order.

   Prompt

   Help me find a cheaper UK supplier for this product. Use only the information I provide and any sources you can access, and separate confirmed facts from assumptions. Product or service: [description and exact specification]. Current supplier and price: [price, currency, unit basis, minimum order and price breaks]. Required quantity and frequency: [quantities and ordering pattern]. Delivery location: [UK postcode area or region]. Required delivery time: [requirement]. Quality, certification and packaging requirements: [requirements]. Acceptable substitutions: [yes or no, with limits]. Payment, contract and return requirements: [requirements]. Current landed cost including delivery, VAT, duties and other charges: [cost breakdown]. Supplier exclusions or constraints: [constraints]. Find at least three plausible alternatives if the evidence supports that many. Compare like with like using the same unit and include product price, delivery, VAT, minimum order, lead time, payment terms, quality evidence, returns and any other material cost. Calculate no saving where a required cost is unknown. Rank the options by likely total cost and suitability, not headline price. Cite the source and access date for every current price or supplier claim. List the questions I must ask each supplier before switching, flag anything that needs my judgement, and draft a short request for quotation. Do not recommend a supplier or claim that one is cheaper until the relevant quote and terms have been confirmed directly.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.

3. Hand it to a person

   The distant third

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.